AWB Chapter 293 Someone coming from my hometown
Chapter 293 Someone coming from my hometown
Chapter 293: Someone from Hometown
Jun Tao had heard the same words many times. She knew that the old lady was trying to win her over and make her work more honestly. At the same time, she kept her mouth shut and didn't say a word that shouldn't be said.
In fact, she knew in her heart that the old lady valued her but was also on guard against her. Because she knew too much, the old lady would never let her leave her side until her death.
She had no choice but to follow the old lady and get deeper and deeper into the trap. Now she couldn't get out even if she wanted to. But she had to leave a way out for herself, firstly to prevent the old lady from killing people to silence them one day, and secondly to prevent the old lady from dying in a few years and the first house chasing her closely. That fourth young lady was really scary just thinking about it.
Jun Tao nodded vigorously, following the old lady's words with a grateful look on her face, "Don't worry, old lady, Jun Tao has no other thoughts, she just wants to stay with you forever. As for the dowry or not, it doesn't matter. I don't care about those things. I just hope I can be married to a good family in the future. I hope the old lady can help me choose a good family and make plans for my future."
The old lady was very satisfied. As long as she had a purpose, that was good. As long as she had a purpose, the maid would listen to her. Such a maid was easy to control.
"What time is it? Has the fourth girl come back?" She asked Jun Tao, "Then Princess Guiyue will never come back after she left, right?"
Jun Tao went outside to take a look, and when she came back she told the old lady, "It's almost noon, the fourth young lady should be back. As for the Guiyue Princess, don't worry, she is a Guiyue person, and it is impossible for her to travel between the two countries casually. Don't worry about the restaurant anymore, it seems that the Guiyue Princess is just venting her anger on the fourth young lady, and now that the land deed has been returned, she will not make trouble anymore."
The old lady breathed a sigh of relief. "It's good that there is no fuss. It's good that there is no fuss. When the inner city is rebuilt, the hundred-day mourning of our First-rank General's Mansion should be over. By then, we should make good arrangements, hold a banquet for the head of the family, and set up some rules. The second son has been wronged for so many years, and it's time for him to be proud of himself. We have to let people know who is the head of the First-rank General's Mansion now."
As the two were talking, a maid's voice came from outside the door: "Madam, someone is visiting the mansion, saying he is from Xiushan County."
"Huh?" The old lady was stunned. "Xiushan County? Could it be that those two are back again?" This matter made her very angry. She was cursing at the air, and the people on the other side came to her door. Isn't this asking for a beating!
Seeing that the old lady was getting angry again and was about to get up to settle accounts with the two men, Jun Tao quickly comforted her: "Don't worry, old lady, it doesn't mean they are back. I will go out and take a look. Don't show up yet."
They said they were not allowed to show up, but the process of waiting for news was more tormenting than going there in person. Jun Tao hadn't been there for long, but in that short time, the old lady had thought of many things. And after thinking about it, if those two people really came back, it would be the best outcome.
Anyway, the nephew and his wife were not very capable and they still depended on her for food in Lin'an City, so it was easier for her to control them. But what if those two people were not the ones who came?
She stood up and walked around the room, supporting her uncomfortable old waist, feeling more and more upset the more she walked.
If it wasn't those two people, then no matter who came, their only purpose was to ask her for money.
For many years, the people in Xiushan didn't farm or work, and no one in their hometown was willing to take the imperial examinations. They just asked her for money to spend. At first, she wanted to save face and make her family feel that she had status in Beijing and had the final say at home, so she sent the money back one by one.
Later, she didn't want to send it off anymore, and began to ask how the people in her hometown lived, asking why they didn't make progress, neither farming nor wanting their children to take the imperial examinations. What did they say to her? They said, "Don't you know why they don't take the imperial examinations?" It's because your Ye family holds a large number of troops and has great power, and the court has always been wary of you while using you.
Our Jiang family and the Ye family are relatives by marriage, so naturally we have to bear the brunt of the consequences. It’s not that our children and grandchildren don’t want to take the imperial examination, but it’s useless even if they do. The court will never give the Jiang family the opportunity to become officials, so we can only stay in a small place like Xiushan County for the rest of our lives. You caused all this, so you have to bear the consequences and be responsible for our lives.
She has been in charge for decades, and now at this age, the Jiang family still refuses to let her go!
Jun Tao finally came back. The old lady could tell at a glance that she looked serious and couldn't help but sigh, "Are you here to ask for money again?"
Jun Tao came up to her and whispered, "It was the old man and his wife who came here in person."
"Hmm?" The old lady was stunned. "Who are you talking about?"
"The old man and his wife are your brother and sister-in-law."
The Jiang family in Xiushan County is now headed by her younger brother, and her sister-in-law manages the inner house. Although there have always been people coming to her place to ask for money over the years, her younger brother and sister-in-law have never come to her house in person. After all, she is the head of the family, and she cannot afford to lose face. But why did they come suddenly this time?
"Did you tell me why you came?" she asked Jun Tao, "Besides the two of them, who else came with you?"
Jun Tao shook her head. "No one important is here. They just brought a servant and a maid. As for what they are doing, they didn't tell me. They just said they must see the old lady. It's important. Old lady, do you think we should go to Xu Ming Hall or call them here?"
The old lady thought for a while, "Let's call them here! We also need to have the servants clean up the guest rooms. They came all the way here, so they should stay for a few days before leaving. It's time to prepare the second son's family banquet, so let them stay and watch the ceremony before leaving."
Jun Tao went out to call for someone, and soon brought a couple in. The man was in his fifties, and like the old lady, he was very thin and had dark skin. The woman, on the other hand, was fair and clean, dressed elegantly and gracefully, and looked even better than the old lady.
The old lady was a little unhappy. All the women in the county were whiter than her. Wouldn't this make her look inferior? But no matter how unhappy she was, she couldn't show it on the surface. After all, these were her relatives from her mother's side, and her own brother. She would still be biased towards him to some extent.
"Sister!" The two began to wipe their tears as they entered the room, the woman wiping her tears and the man wiping his tears too, and they both confused the old lady.
She stood up and went forward to greet them personally, pulling them one by one, and asked with concern: "What's wrong? Why are you crying? Did something happen at home? Jiang Shuo, you are the head of the family. No matter what happened, you shouldn't leave Xiushan County and walk such a long way to the capital!" She asked a lot of questions, but seeing that her brother was crying so sadly, she had no choice but to push him to sit on the chair, and then asked her sister-in-law Tang, "Tell me, what happened?"
Tang's mood was better. Although she was wiping away tears, she was able to stop crying. However, there was some panic and fear in her eyes, which was immediately caught by the old lady.
So the old lady was also panicking, "Did something happen in my hometown? Who is missing?" When she asked this question, she thought of the nephew and his wife who were sent away yesterday. They were not her biological brother's children, but her half-brother's son and daughter-in-law, so she didn't like them much. The reason why she used them to manage the restaurant was because she couldn't spare any other manpower for a while.
So she was not worried about those two people, but was a little worried about her younger brother's children.
"Did something happen to Jiang Hang or Yu Ge'er?" The old lady's eyes widened.
That's the root of the Jiang family! Jiang Hang is her brother Jiang Shuo's only son, and he's 29 this year. Yu Ge'er is also Jiang Hang's only child, and he's just 10 years old. Looking at the expressions of these two people, could it be that something happened to the child?
Hearing the old lady's question, Tang finally responded and quickly shook her head, "No, no, it's not Jiang Hang, nor is it Yu Ge'er. Sister, the reason why I went to Beijing with the master this time is because something terrible happened at home and we can't make the decision. Sister, the ancestral tomb collapsed!"
"What?" The old lady almost thought there was something wrong with her ears. The ancestral tomb collapsed? "How could the ancestral tomb collapse?" Jiang Shuo finally stopped crying and began to tell the story of the ancestral tomb collapsing. Of course, these stories were also told to him by the tomb keeper.
It is said that before the New Year, there was a sudden loud bang one day, and the largest mausoleum in Xiushan County, the ancestral tomb of the Jiang family, collapsed inexplicably. And the collapse became heavier and heavier, with continuous bangs, and soon the entire mausoleum collapsed, and the coffins were exposed.
Jiang Shuo also said, "We should have come a long time ago, but we still have to go for some time from Xiushan to Lin'an. We calculated that it would be the Chinese New Year in Lin'an. We can't come to you on Chinese New Year's Day to tell you that our ancestral tomb collapsed. It's so taboo! So this matter was suppressed, and we didn't come here until the sixth day after the Chinese New Year. Unexpectedly, we caught up with the earth dragon in Lin'an. Sister, this is a big deal. We are worried no matter who tells us. After thinking about it, we had to come here in person. Sister, please analyze it and make a decision. What should we do about this? Should we repair the tomb or move it? Should we hold a ritual or something..."
The First-Rank General's Mansion received news that the Jiang family's ancestral tomb had collapsed. At the same time, Empress Dowager Li in the palace also received news that the ancestral tomb of the He family, led by He Jin, a third-rank left vice minister of the Ministry of Rites, had also collapsed a few years ago.
The reason why this news reached the ears of Empress Dowager Li was because He Jin and Empress Dowager Li were from the same hometown, both in Li County. In addition, the Li family's ancestral tomb had collapsed not long ago, so people in his hometown naturally reported it as a major event.
The first reaction of Empress Dowager Li after hearing the news was not to analyze whether there was a problem with the land in Li County, but to wonder whether the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites had provoked Ye Wenyan...